City braces for drivers leaving tolled SR-99 tunnel starting Nov. 9

Get your wallet or your patience ready

People drive on their evening commute home through downtown on the first work day since the Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on Friday, Monday Jan. 11, 2018. Traffic was lighter than expected but may get worse before the new 99 tunnel is opened in February. less

People drive on their evening commute home through downtown on the first work day since the Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on Friday, Monday Jan. 11, 2018. Traffic was lighter than expected but may get worse ... more

Photo: GENNA MARTIN, Genna Martin, Seattlepi.com

Photo: GENNA MARTIN, Genna Martin, Seattlepi.com

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People drive on their evening commute home through downtown on the first work day since the Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on Friday, Monday Jan. 11, 2018. Traffic was lighter than expected but may get worse before the new 99 tunnel is opened in February. less

People drive on their evening commute home through downtown on the first work day since the Alaskan Way Viaduct was closed on Friday, Monday Jan. 11, 2018. Traffic was lighter than expected but may get worse ... more

Photo: GENNA MARTIN, Genna Martin, Seattlepi.com

City braces for drivers leaving tolled SR-99 tunnel starting Nov. 9

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Come Saturday, drivers may have to make the decision of paying to drive under the city, or wait in traffic to travel through it.

With tolling of the state Route 99 tunnel looming, both the Seattle and Washington state departments of transportation have issued concerns and warnings of serious diversion rates from the tunnel — those who opt out of paying the fluctuating toll prices by driving above, through downtown.

At a news conference in September, Heather Marx, SDOT's director of downtown mobility, said traffic models projected 40-50% of drivers not using the tunnel after Nov. 9, when tolling starts. About 80,000 trips happen daily in the tunnel, according to WSDOT.

"I don't expect that many to divert from using the tunnel, but it's what we're preparing for," Marx said.

It could take months for the effects of tolling to be certain for a few reasons, WSDOT said in an email to media Wednesday. Tolling starts on what is, for some, a three-day weekend. Tuesday, Nov. 12 will be the first full commute day with tolling in effect. Traffic patterns could fluctuate for the first month or so as well. Drivers may change their minds daily, weighing the cost of driving through the tunnel versus pulling out hair in snarled traffic.

From the jump, Marx and other WSDOT and SDOT officials have said those using the tunnel, should keep using it.

But that will come at a cost of at least $1 per trip — in either direction.

The costs break down to reflect higher travel times. A trip through the Bertha-bored tunnel will cost $1 on the weekends and from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays. The price peaks at $2.25 from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Going through without a Good to Go pass or transponder will tack on an extra $2 to the trip. Those can be found, bought, ordered and activated here.

The tolling — like the Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition project and the weeks-long SR-99 closure earlier in 2019 — is all part of the "Seattle Squeeze," which sounds inevitable when talking to transportation officials. Travelers handled the viaduct closure well, as large parts of the working population worked from home, used transit and biked.

But that was just a three-week period. Tolling won't end.

There's no silver bullet other than to use public transportation and "plan drives with the community in mind," according to Marx and Patty Rubstello, WSDOT urban mobility director.

"Transit is still the best way to get to and from downtown," Marx said.